4 months ago

4 months ago

4 months ago

Rush The Court is back with another edition of One on One: An Interview Series, which we will bring you periodically throughout the offseason. If you have any specific interview requests or want us to interview you, shoot us an email at rushthecourt@yahoo.com.

Elwyn McRoy is what one would call a coaching nomad. Over the last 16 seasons, McRoy has held 12 different jobs at 12 different schools. After a playing career that saw him play at two different junior colleges before finishing his eligibility at Cleveland State, McRoy embarked on a coaching career that has taken him to stops at every different level of coaching. He has coached at the high school level, the junior college level, the Division-II level, and the Division-I level. During the 2012-13 season, McRoy served as an assistant at the D-II Stillman College in Alabama. In a recent profile for the Chronicle of Higher Education, Brad Wolverton described how McRoy spent his season at Stillman, earning $3,000 while living in a dorm, being away from his family (his wife and four kids stayed in Seattle), and eating off of a meal plan. Following his season at Stillman, McRoy was able to earn himself another crack at a D-I job when he was named to newly-hired UT-Pan American coach Dan Hipsher’s staff in Edinburg, Texas. RTC correspondent Walker Carey recently had the pleasure of speaking to McRoy about the trials and tribulations of his career and his new job at UT-Pan American. You can follow him on Twitter @CoachMcRoy.

Rush the Court: When did you decide you wanted to become a coach and why?

McRoy’s Journey Has Been Long and Arduous (Chronicle/ Tamika Moore)

Elwyn McRoy: I always knew I wanted to become a coach at some point. Both my parents were coaches, as well as educators, and I always saw how much influence they had on their students. Also, once I had the unique opportunity to play for five coaches (ed. note: freshman season at Butler Community College – Randy Smithson, redshirt freshman season at Hutchinson Community College – Steve McClain, redshirt sophomore season at Hutchinson – Randy Stange, redshirt junior season at Cleveland State – Mike Boyd, and redshirt senior season at Cleveland State – Rollie Massimino) in five years of college basketball, I knew I had a ton of information I had learned and could pass along. Being a point guard, I learned a great deal from all these coaches! Also, it was easier to accept getting into coaching after I knew I would not be making a lot of money chasing the dream of playing professionally. My semi-pro career consisted of playing with the New York Nationals, which is another name for the Washington Generals, who play their games against the Harlem Globetrotters. I did that for five months in 1999.

RTC: You were the subject of a tremendous profile chronicling your nomadic career in The Chronicle of Higher Education at the beginning of June. Since that profile was published, what sort of response have you received from those in the basketball community, and also, from those outside of the basketball community?